Araqah (Arabic: عرقه) is a Palestinian village in the Jenin Governorate in the Northern area of the West Bank, located 15 kilometers West of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 2,667 inhabitants in 2017.[2]

Araqah
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicعرقه
 • Latinal-Araqa (official)
’Araqa (unofficial)
Araqah as seen from the Shahak Industrial Park
Araqah as seen from the Shahak Industrial Park
Araqah is located in State of Palestine
Araqah
Araqah
Location of Araqah within Palestine
Coordinates: 32°28′16″N 35°12′02″E / 32.47111°N 35.20056°E / 32.47111; 35.20056
Palestine grid169/208
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateJenin
Government
 • TypeVillage council
Population
 (2017)
 • Total2,667
Name meaningThe cliffs[1]

History edit

Araqah was established in the 18th century, probably by the Abd el-Hadi family or under their auscipes.[3]

Potsherds from the late Roman,[4] Byzantine,[4][5] early Muslim and the Middle Ages have been found here.[4]

Ottoman era edit

Pottery remains from the early Ottoman era have also been found here.[4]

In 1870, Victor Guérin described it as a small village, situated on a small hill, and divided into two quarters.[6] In 1870/1871 (1288 AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya of Shafa al-Gharby.[7]

In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine found that it was "a village of moderated size on a hill side, with a well to the south."[8]

British Mandate era edit

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the village had a population of 168 Muslims,[9] increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 219 Muslims, with 36 houses.[10]

In 1944/5 statistics the population was 350 Muslims,[11] with a total of 5,675 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[12] Of this, 462 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,191 dunams for cereals,[13] while 27 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[14]

Jordanian era edit

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Araqah came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 569 inhabitants.[15]

Post-1967 edit

Araqah has been under Israeli occupation along with the rest of the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

On 27 April 2015 an eighteen-year-old youth from the village died after being shot the previous day by Israeli soldiers.[16]

Demography edit

Local origins edit

Some of Araqah's residents have origins in the Bayt Jibrin area, while others have origins in Transjordan.[3]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 144
  2. ^ Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (February 2018). "Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017" (PDF). p. 64. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in Shomron studies. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 345
  4. ^ a b c d Zertal, 2016, p. 215
  5. ^ Dauphin, 1998, p. 750
  6. ^ Guérin, 1874, p. 224
  7. ^ Grossman, David (2004). Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine. Jerusalem: Magnes Press. p. 256.
  8. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 44
  9. ^ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. 30
  10. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 67
  11. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 16 Archived 2018-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 54
  13. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 98
  14. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 148
  15. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25
  16. ^ Palestinian Man Shot in West Bank Dies of Wounds Ha'aretz 27/4/2015

Bibliography edit

External links edit